Parents Must Check Content of Children's Books

A pro-family leader says parents in Wilmington, North Carolina, need to "raise Cain" about a controversial book in an elementary school library.

At issue is a book in the library of Freeman Elementary School called King and King (Tricycle Press, 2002). It is about a prince who spurns a number of eligible princesses before falling for another prince. The illustrated children's story ends with the two men marrying and sharing a kiss.

Bob Knight with the Culture and Family Institute feels people should not be surprised to find embedded in school libraries books like King and King, which he says are designed to confuse children and make them think homosexuality is a good thing.

"Parents should understand that homosexual activists are very serious about taking over schools and indoctrinating children into the idea that homosexuality is normal and healthy, and that anyone who says otherwise is a narrow-minded bigot," Knight says, noting that the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has conducted seminars promoting the teaching of homosexuality to children as young as kindergarten age.

The pro-family leader contends that parents and educators need to be more vigilant about the selection of school literature, and that children's books published by Tricycle Press should be subjected to special scrutiny. He says any publisher that puts out a children's book promoting homosexuality is pursuing a political agenda.

In general, Knight believes people need to pay more attention to how the homosexual agenda creeps into the educational system. "This should be a wakeup call to parents all across America who think 'It can't happen in my school.' Well it can -- and it can happen in very subtle ways, like books being introduced into the school library without parents or even teachers knowing they're there and kids stumbling upon them," he says.

Parents must be pro-active, the Culture and Family Institute spokesman contends, and forceful in spite of those who criticize their efforts. "I think parents need to take more interest in who's running the school, who's selecting the books," he says, "and they shouldn't be deterred by charges by the People for the American Way and the ACLU that they're somehow interfering with education and freedom of speech."

According to Knight, parents must get involved in determining the content to which their children are exposed because nobody has the best interests of their children at heart like they do. He says in the case of King and King, concerned parents need to take another parent or two with them to the school and then inquire how such a book was selected for their children's school.